i have a black diamond harness for about 6 months now and have used it aboput half a dozen times only for abseiling and the belay loop has a nick in it and is starting to fray. is this normal? my dad has a 20 yr old harness and the belay loop has no marks on it and its been used for everything u can imagine. what should i do?

it looks like you have caught it on something sharp. it probably will not affect the integrity of the belay loop, however probably is not really good enough as itís a new harness I would contact the manufactures and see if they can replace the belay loop

Yep. My thoughts exactly. I'd just dump the harness and buy a new one. It's not worth the head-ache of always wondering if the belay loop is good when you're about to rap off. Heck, if BD wants to replace it for free, then go for it.

Get it sent back to BD to have a new loop sewn on it. I'm assuming the rest of the harness is in good shape. BD should do it for free or a couple bucks. Which would be cheeper than buying a new harness. Don

I agree. And the OP's is probably fine. Which is probably what Skinner thought before he started that last rap. I'm just saying "how lucky do you feel?"

If so, not w/good basis; and it's NOT what his buddy(ies) thought. At best, it would've been "it'll last one more time"; whereas here, it's "it's about as good as new (considering the other nicks it'll accrue, before it's time is due).

I agree. And the OP's is probably fine. Which is probably what Skinner thought before he started that last rap. I'm just saying "how lucky do you feel?"

If so, not w/good basis; and it's NOT what his buddy(ies) thought. At best, it would've been "it'll last one more time"; whereas here, it's "it's about as good as new (considering the other nicks it'll accrue, before it's time is due).

Knude, dude... we're on the same page. I'm just saying "about as good as new" isn't the same as "new." And "probably" isn't the same as "is." Modern birth control pills are 99% effective. And yet, we had a daughter while on the pill. It happens.

jesus, with the argument going on here, the OP should save himself the headache, give up climbing for something safer, like say... model railroading?

if it were a single-layer sling, a nick like that could be something to retire.

in a triple-layer sling (like the belay loop is), something like that is something to keep an eye on, while you try to figure out what piece of gear was the perpetrator. When you figure that out, retire the piece of gear (so it doesn't screw up your next harness), continue climbing on the original harness till it's actually ready to retire.